Romario Williams has been named to USL Championship Team of the Week for Week One. This is Williams’ fifth career Team of the Week selection, and Hartford’s first of the 2024 season.
Williams was a scoring threat in the attacking third for Hartford from start to finish in their 1-0 road victory over El Paso on Saturday night, and scored the game’s deciding goal in the early stages. He chased down a quality pass from Jay Chapman into the box, and did well to protect the ball while drawing contact from Bolu Akinyode to force a penalty. Coach Burke called on Williams to take the PK himself, and the veteran confidently buried his try into the bottom right corner of the net to give Hartford the lead in the 13th minute.
Williams’ nearly followed up his goal with an assist just two minutes after scoring, creating a chance for Michee Ngalina. He looped a cross into the six yard box for his teammate, whose one-touched shot zoomed just over the crossbar.
Overall, Williams’ productive night included two shots on goal, two chances created, and the game winning goal for the Green and Blue.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 1
Sacramento Republic FC’s Trevor Amann voted Player of the Week after two-goal debut against Orange County SC
TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 1 of the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, with Sacramento Republic FC forward Trevor Amann voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after he recorded two goals in his debut for Republic FC in a 2-2 draw against Orange County SC before a sellout crowd of 11,569 fans at Heart Health Park.
The 2023 USL League One Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner at Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, Amann wasted little time in opening his Championship account in his first appearance in the league. The 25-year-old opened the scoring in the 28th minute, playing Cristian Parano down the left side before darting into the penalty area to head home the Argentine’s precise cross. Amann added a second with 13 minutes to go with an impressive individual finish from the left side of the penalty area.
“Obviously it feels good to score goals,” said Amann. “That’s what I love doing, that’s part of my job on the team. But I think overall, there’s a few things that I probably could clean up as well and make better decisions in some areas. But overall, I think it was a decent performance, so we got to build from here and just keep getting better every day.”
Amann earned 45 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Birmingham Legion FC goalkeeper Matt VanOekel finished second on 27 percent after recording an eight-save shutout on the road in his side’s 1-0 victory against defending Championship title holder Phoenix Rising FC to open the campaign.
The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 1 GK – Matt VanOekel, Birmingham Legion FC: The veteran recorded an eight-save shutout, his 43rd in the Championship’s regular season to move into a tie for third all-time, and recorded two punched clearances as Legion took a 1-0 victory on the road against Phoenix Rising FC.
D – Nicolas Cardona, Miami FC: The Puerto Rico international won 5 of 8 tackles, 11 of 14 ground duels and 2 of 3 aerial duels and made 13 clearances while captaining Miami FC to a 2-0 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
D – Lucas Stauffer, El Paso Locomotive FC: The Locomotive newcomer put in a strong debut display, recording five chances created and two shots joining the attack on the left side while winning 3 of 3 tackles and 8 of 10 duels defensively.
D – Younes Boudadi, Indy Eleven: The Moroccan right back put in a positive performance with one assist and four chances created as Indy visited Oakland Roots SC, and won 2 of 2 tackles and 6 of 9 duels defensively.
M – Jorge Hernandez, San Antonio FC: The reigning Championship Golden Playmaker recorded two assists and had three chances created overall while completing 29 of 35 passes and 2 of 3 dribbles in SAFC’s 2-2 draw against Loudoun United FC.
M – Florian Valot, Loudoun United FC: The French veteran scored a stoppage-time equalizer in second-half stoppage time and won 8 of 8 ground duels and 3 of 4 aerial duels to help a 10-player Loudoun rally for a 2-2 draw on the road against San Antonio FC.
M – Jack Blake, Indy Eleven: The English midfielder scored a first-half goal and had six shots overall while completing 40 of 55 passes and winning 10 of 14 duels and making 12 recoveries in Indy’s visit to Oakland Roots SC.
M – Irakoze Donasiyano, Oakland Roots SC: The Burundi international provided the assist on Oakland’s game-winning goal against Indy Eleven and had two chances created overall while completing 30 of 34 passes and winning 3 of 4 tackles defensively.
F – Trevor Amann, Sacramento Republic FC: The 2023 League One Player of the Year made a big first impression in his Championship debut, scoring twice and recording three shots on target in Sacramento’s 2-2 draw with Orange County SC.
F – Greg Hurst, New Mexico United: The Scottish forward scored the only goal as New Mexico made a winning start to the season against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and completed 5 of 5 dribbles while winning 6 of 8 ground duels at Isotopes Park.
F – Romario Williams, Hartford Athletic: The Jamaican international converted from the penalty spot after being brought down in the box to give Hartford a 1-0 win against El Paso Locomotive FC and had three shots and two chances created overall.
Coach – Eric Quill, New Mexico United: In Quill’s first home opener at the club, New Mexico put in an impressive display in taking a 1-0 victory against reigning Players’ Shield holder Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC while creating three big scoring chances.
Bench – Alex Tambakis (NM), Bryan Tamacas (OAK), Akeem Ward (MEM), Jeciel Cedeno (OAK), Aaron Molloy (CHS), Andrew Booth (MIA), Nighte Pickering (MEM)
